“We Were Tortured for Refusing N200m to Frame Fubara’s Ally” — Cleared Suspects of Rivers Assembly Fire Allege Threats, Bribery, and Police Abuse
PORT HARCOURT — Four men recently discharged and acquitted over the burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly have alleged that their lives remain under constant threat following their release.
The individuals Chime Ezebalike, Kenneth Kpasa, Prince Oladele Lukman, and MacPherson Olumini told journalists in Port Harcourt that their ordeal stemmed from their refusal to falsely implicate the Chief of Staff to the Rivers State Government, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, in the arson attack.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Ezebalike said they were offered a bribe of N200 million to accuse Ehie but declined, leading to intense pressure and alleged torture while in police custody.
“Our only crime was refusing to frame anyone, especially Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, for the Assembly fire,” Ezebalike stated. “Between December 5, 2023, and January 16, 2024, we were subjected to arrest, intimidation, physical assault, and psychological torture.”
According to Ezebalike, Oladele was first picked up on December 5, followed by the arrest of Chime and MacPherson at Ogbakiri Junction on December 16. Kpasa was reportedly taken on January 5 in GRA, Port Harcourt, by a convoy of three Hilux vans. They were allegedly blindfolded and transported to the Federal Intelligence Response Team (F-IRT) office under the pretext of being in a stolen vehicle.
The group also claimed they were falsely linked to the murder of the Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada, Bako Angbashim, describing it as a strategy to compel them into implicating loyalists of suspended Governor Siminialayi Fubara.
Ezebalike stressed that three of them, himself, Kpasa, and Lukman are known associates of Rt. Hon. Ehie Edison and Hon. Sokari Goodboy, while Olumini was merely caught up due to proximity.
The men are now calling for protection, insisting they fear for their lives and want the public to know the truth behind their arrest and what they described as a failed plot to politicize the Assembly fire.
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